Monday, November 14, 2011

Going to War with the Gear You've Got....

As we go about our lives - eating, drinking and being merry - our newspaper headlines are unfolding like a poorly written end-of-the world novel. The Euro is on the brink of failure, with the dollar quickly tumbling into the abyss. Social chaos, once unthinkable, has now become commonplace. This nation, planted by free men and fertilized by the blood of patriots is being ravaged by petty tyrants spouting equality and justice. Smooth words oiled with lies provide a balm to the people while these tyrants establish for themselves empirical kingdoms - kingdoms whose very foundations crush the freedoms of men.

For those of us who see the signs of the times, all of this can be more than a little disturbing. In fact, it can be downright scary. My first inclination is to circle the wagons. I want to make sure that my house is in order. Do I have enough wheat? What about antibiotics? I'm pretty sure we could use some more olive oil. The list is endless. And then, what about our living situation? This is not where I want to be. I'd like to be a little more remote. A root cellar sure would be nice. And what about a milk cow - how can I survive the end of the world without a cow? The worries pile up, one on top of the other, until they threaten to crush me. And then I remember. You have to go to war with the gear you've got, not the gear you want.

The reality is that when our country was hewn out of the forest, it was done so with little more than a few tools and a whole lot of heart. The men and women who so desperately wanted a new life were willing to work, suffer and even die to establish a new country. They relied on God and each other to survive. They were willing to suffer, I mean really suffer, in order to secure a better life for themselves and their children. They were always cold, always exhausted, always dirty, but they soldiered on because they knew that to turn back meant to live their lives at the mercy of someone else rather than living as free men. They didn't have very much in terms of "gear", but that didn't matter. They chiseled a new world with the tools they had, not the tools they wanted.

I could come up with list after list of gear, equipment and provisions that I "need" to survive the-end-of-the-world-as-you-know-it, but the truth is, that it would never really be enough. I would never feel like I had "made it". I don't think I will ever utter the words "We're there - we don't need anything else". It is just not human nature. I can, however, go to the end of the world with what I have. I have the most important things. I have God. I have my family. I have skills, toughness and optimism. And I am not afraid to suffer.

Too many times, in our rush to prepare for an uncertain future, we stock up, pile up and store up things, but we forget what we really need to be preparing - our minds and our souls. Any of you who read this blog know that I think there is prudence in long term food storage and accumulating medical necessities and tactical gear, but, I urge you to realize that you will really never have enough of these things. You need to ready yourself for battle by preparing yourself for deprivation, for suffering and for hardship. You cannot insulate yourself from the realities of the "end of the world" with storerooms full of stuff. You will have to be able to go without and to make do.

No matter what you do, you will never have enough to last you through the end of the world. Store what you can. Learn what you can. Do what you can. Then, go to war with what you've got, not with what you want.

9 comments:

I was just talking with some friends of mine about the same subject about how 'we will never be fully prepared for every crisis"

One example, Fire extingusers. I was trained in fire fighting in the military, so if some idiot with a molotov cocktail tried to cook off my house I can easily put the fire out. Problem is that fire extingusers are expensive!I have been trying to find inexpensive extingusers. Im not counting on the fire dept. or any water pressure when a collapse happens.

There once was a day, when tyrants came from afar across large waters, to pillage and steal from the meek and the weaker in our society.

Now, our government has unlawfully mainstreamed our society into one big world, economic,and societal "equalizer", that has left all people wanting, and meek and weaker.

Tyrants today don't have to come from afar, they just vote behind their committees, unions, and lobbyists, to redistribute others hard earned wealth and industry, to those who are unjustly contributing nothing back to our society, except sympathy.

You're spot on Enola. The lists are worthless without the wisdom to recognize Good from Evil, and without the gumption to defend our country from tyranny.

The future might not be "war" but it most certainly will be different from what we think it will be. That is the problem with getting stressed over how prepared we are for possible futures we _can_ foresee. The odds are the actual future and its challenges will be quite different from what we think. I know that has certainly been true in my life.

This does not mean we should not prepare, just that we should not be so arrogant as to think we "know" what will happen.

In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. - Proverbs 21:20

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. - 1 Timothy 5:8

Many years ago my pastor had a favorite saying:

"God inhabits eternity, but He has a marvelous sense of timing."

Which is another way of saying "trust in God". He knows the future which we do not.

Wow. Thanks for the post. My husband and I were just talking about all that we feel we still need and how we just don't have the money right now to get it all. We read a lot and have had to go extended periods of time with no power (way out in the country) so we have a general idea of what we need...but I wonder if we will get it all in time. The reality is, as you say, we may never have it all but at least we know we can survive, even if it's not in ideal circumstances!

To me, the End Of The World means something really serious-like the Sun going supernova. Will society across the planet undergo some sort of major change? I don't know. There are events to suggest it, but there are also a lot of variables to take into account. Predicting Doomsday is iffy,at very best-look into all the "Doomsday" predictions of the past. Still, there's plenty of reason to be as ready for disaster-like an extended power outage/fuel or food shortage/civil unrest. These can result from natural disasters as well as manmade ones. Prepare as best you can, but don't let it run you bonkers. Make a hobby of it,and integrate it into your life. Find what works for you.

I laughed as I told my husband that except for the cow (which I have) I could almost have written this post! I thank God every day for His presence in my life. When the time comes we'll go to war with what we have and in the meantime we'll continue to prepare as best we can.

I totally love the photo at the top of this post. In my mind I can hear myself (or yourself) saying to an unsuspecting person "and of course here is a photo of the left wall of the newly renovated basement..."

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About Me

I am a christian, conservative, survival minded, homeschooling,off-grid, independent, home-birthing, Proverbs 31, Titus 2 minded 40 year old woman. I live with my husband and five children in our solar/generator powered shop on 30 acres. We are homestead types who try to do as much as we can ourselves, but understand the importance of community.